Growlers Earn First Ever Preseason Victory

Deer Lake, NL - The Newfoundland Growlers put on a show for the fans at the Hodder Memorial Arena in Deer Lake on Friday night and did not disappoint as five different players lit the lamp en route to a 5-2 victory over the Brampton Beast.

Maxim Mizyurin, Alex Gudbranson, Andrew Darrigo, Ryan Moore and Matt Bradley all scored for the Growlers, and Marcus Power and Scott Pooley each chipped in with two assists to lead their club to victory for the first time in franchise history.

The Growlers struck first for the second consecutive game as Maxim Mizyurin picked up a loose puck in the slot, danced around a defender and roofed home his first goal of the preseason, giving the hometown squad the lead at 8:55 of the opening frame.

The Beast were quick to respond. Erik Bradford poked a rebound behind Growlers starter Michael Garteig less than a minute later to knot the game at one at 9:44.

The first period scoring fest continued later in the frame as Alex Gudbranson fired a point shot toward the goal that pinballed toward the goal and found twine behind Beast starter Jake Paterson, restoring the Growlers lead at 16:42.

The Beast would again strike back quickly to tie the game before the intermission as former St. John's IceCap Brandon MacLean scored at 17:15 to send the teams to their dressing rooms tied 2-2.

The game remained tied until the midway point of the second period. Buoyed by a strong performance in goal from Brad Barone, who took over in relief of Garteig at the halfway point, the Growlers got the go-ahead goal from Andrew Darrigo, who snuck in off the blue line and accepted a feed from

behind the goal and rifled it home at 9:56.

Entering the third period, the Growlers would not take their foot off the gas. Ryan Moore picked up his first point of the night, collecting a loose puck from a sea of bodies in front of Paterson and sliding it home, giving the Growlers their first two-goal lead at 12:56.

The Growlers didn't stop there. Picking up speed through the neutral zone, Ryan Moore connected with Matt Bradley on an odd-man rush and Bradley connected with a perfectly-placed shot under the bar, giving the Growlers a 5-2 lead with only 2:58 remaining in the third period.

The Growlers finished the game 0-for-1 on the power play and were a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Growlers return to action on Sunday, October 7 in Clarenville as they finish the preseason with another game against the Brampton Beast at 2:00PM.